Minnesota WeatherTalk

Warmest Week of the Month: This week, especially September 22-24, brought the warmest temperatures of the month to most parts of Minnesota. Over 85 climate stations reported daytime highs in the 80s F, as high as 88°F at Marshall (Lyon County), Granite Falls (Yellow Medicine County), and Sabin (Clay County). MSP had its warmest reading of the month on Wednesday (September 23) with a high of 84°F. A few climate stations even set new record high temperature: On the 22nd Brimson (St Louis County) reported a new record high of 77°F; on the 23rd Cass Lake (Cass County) reported a new record high of 820176F; and on the 24th Redwood Falls reported a new record high temperature of 86°F. Temperatures are expected to decline the rest of the month, so on balance I would not be surprised to see September finish with cooler than normal monthly mean temperatures. This would be the first cooler than normal month for the state since last May.

 Multiple Frosts This Month: Many climate stations are reporting multiple frosts this month, especially in the northern third of the state. Some places have seen 5-6 morning frosts. Minimum temperatures from 20°F (Embarrass, Babbitt, and Cotton) to 29°F have been reported from portions of Koochiching, Cook, Lake, St Louis, Carlton, Hubbard, Marshall, Clearwater, Lake of the Woods, Cass, Chisago, and Beltrami Counties. Some parts of these counties have already reported up to 50 percent autumn leaf color change according to the DNR . Much of the southern half of Minnesota has yet to see a frost this month, and most of the next two weeks looks to be frost free according to the NOAA outlook models. The outlook for harvesting of crops looks good too with a general absence of rainfall over the remainder of the month, and good field dry-down rates expected for crops. Weekly Weather Potpourri: According to NOAA Hurricane Sally brought massive amounts of rainfall to portions of coastal Ala